Greene County IAGenWeb

1907 Past and Present Biographies

Josephus F. Head

For more than a half century the name of Head has been inseparably interwoven with the history of Jefferson and of Greene county. Its representatives have been connected with various lines of business which have contributed to the general welfare and prosperity and he whose name introduces this record has been a leading factor in promoting the stock-raising interests, at the same time adding to the improvement and upbuilding of the county seat through his real-estate operations.

He was born in Ohio in 1831 and is a son of William O. and Margaret (Ferneau) Head. The family was established in Kentucky in pioneer times and there William Head. the grandfather of our subject, was born but at an early age he became a resident of Ohio. The Ferneau family is of Virginian ancestry but both the father and mother of our subject were born in the Buckeye state.

Josephus F. Head was reared in that state and pursued his education in its public schools. The advantages of the new but growing west attracted him when he was a young man andat the age of twenty-three years he made his way to Poweshiek county, Iowa, where he arrived in 1855. There he engaged in teaching school for a time and also turned his attention to farming. The qualities of leadership, which are a strong characteristic of the family, were manifest in him, and his worth and ability being recognized by his fellow townsmen, he was called to public oflice. serving as county auditor for two terms.

Mr. Head dates his residence in Greene county from 1873, at which time he took up his abode in Jefferson. Here he first turned his attention to the real estate business and negotiated many important property transfers. Later he gave his attention to his farming interests, securing a tract of land on the outskirts of the town, comprising eighty acres. This was improved but he has further developed it and has added all of the modern equipments and accessories. For some time he was engaged extensively in the raising of fine cattle and horses and in this way did much to improve the grade of stock produced in this section of the state. He continued to operate in real estate and laid out what is known as J. F. Head’s addition to Jefferson. He is now living retired, enjoying a well merited rest, his activity and enterprise in former years having brought to him the capital that now enables him to enjoy life’s comforts and luxuries without further recourse to labor.

Mr. Head was married in Highland county, Ohio, in the year 1853, to Miss Ellen H. Semans, and they became the parents of a son and three daughters, namely: William O., now living in Jefferson; Mrs. Margaret Wagner; Mrs. Addie Wynkoop; and Mrs. Gertrude McCully. All live in Jefferson.

In politics Mr. Head is an active republican and has served as a member of the city council of Jefferson. He has long taken a deep interest in the questions and issues of the day and has done all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. He has now passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life’s journey and is one of the honored and venerable residents of Greene county. No influence of birth or fortune favored him in early life. In fact he has been the architect of his own fortunes and has builded wisely and well, today occupying a prominent position among the men of marked ability and substantial worth who have achieved prominence and success.

Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead,"
by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver,
Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.

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